In a fiery off-air promo delivered during a commercial break on the September 8 edition of Monday Night Raw, AJ Styles claimed to the live audience that he believes “somebody doesn’t want me here.” The segment, which occurred just before his match against El Grande Americano, saw Styles vent about his current standing within the company.
Grabbing a microphone, Styles directly addressed his isolation on the roster, a situation he feels is a first in his career. “For the first time in my career, I’ve got no one watching my back. Gallows, Anderson, they’re not here. Michin, she’s on SmackDown,” he stated, suggesting it was an intentional strategy to sabotage him. “It’s like someone orchestrated a way for me not to win anymore… I’ll let you make your own conclusions.”
Styles acknowledged the unfiltered nature of his comments, telling the crowd he was saying something they “probably not supposed to hear.” This on-mic frustration mirrors a sentiment that has been building outside the ring, most notably when his own son agreed with a fan on social media who claimed WWE was disrespecting the former champion.
That fan criticism came after a storyline that saw Styles fail in back-to-back challenges for Dominik Mysterio’s Intercontinental Championship. The recent promo adds another layer to the ongoing speculation about his future, fueled by a cryptic hourglass image he posted on social media.
While Styles is locked into a one-year contract extension that keeps him with the company until February, his path to signing it wasn’t straightforward. A report from The Takedown on SI noted that before re-signing, Styles had put out feelers to work outside of WWE, drawing significant interest from promoters on the convention circuit.
That exploration is now closed, but his latest promo makes it clear the frustration remains. With Styles having stated in a March interview that this current contract will be his last before retirement, this heated declaration suggests the final chapter of the Phenomenal One’s career could be his most turbulent.